Still Have to Rely on the System

His big face burned with pain. Luckily, Tahm's skin was thick, or that blow could have crippled him outright.

Never having felt pain like this before, Tahm touched his distorted face and froze on the spot.

Toad White was stunned too. He had only just put some force into it—how had his opponent been knocked into a complete shutdown?

An uproar broke out below the stage, and the frogs were all shocked. Not because Toad White's performance had been so astonishing, but because: Sage Fukasaku's disciple was this weak!? What Toad White had displayed was merely the strength of an ordinary ninja frog. Someone at his level could receive personal instruction from an Immortal? Was there some unspeakable frog-related deal behind this?

Watching silently from a corner, Sage Fukasaku secretly sighed. Just as expected. Good thing he had not shown himself to watch the match directly, or he would never have been able to show his old face again. How could he ever go out and face other frogs afterward?

Weak strength, poor talent, only learning a tongue-lengthening ninjutsu in an entire year, and yet overestimating himself. His sole virtue was probably his relatively innocent personality, right? What exactly did the Great Toad Sage see in him?

Old Fukasaku once again recalled the Great Toad Sage's prophecy about Tahm from a year ago: he would change the era.

That prophecy had kept Fukasaku's mental defenses from completely collapsing every time Tahm crushed them. Not only had he personally taken Tahm as his disciple, he had taught him hand in hand to become a ninja frog, and despite Tahm's pathetic talent for chakra and ninjutsu, he had persisted for a full year without giving up.

Although he had expected Tahm to lose miserably, Sage Fukasaku still felt a wave of emotion. The people he had taught were legends of the Shinobi World like the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage. How had he fallen so low?

You little brat! Where was the combat awareness I taught you? If you can't win, are you just going to stand there spacing out?

While fuming at Tahm's failure to live up to expectations, he had already begun devising a devilish training regimen for him after the trial.

But Tahm, who was currently displaying his ultimate spacing-out technique on the arena, was not frozen because he feared the pain. Rather, his golden finger had finally arrived after endless waiting!

As he was sent flying by that staff strike, a mechanical voice appeared out of nowhere in his mind:

Battle damage detected.

Battle System unlocked.

Data Template activated.

Then, an image of a frog strangely appeared in Tahm's vision. At a glance, he recognized it as his River King portrait from the game. A tiny number 1 beneath it told him he was still a pathetic level-one weakling, while the experience bar was naturally empty. There was also a familiar flat minimap, where the surrounding terrain and all living beings were visible at a glance. Beside the portrait were the familiar health and mana bars, displaying 680/852 (recovery 6.5/s) and 110/110 (recovery 1/s), respectively.

Wait, I'm a hero, aren't I? Why is my starting mana only 110?

The instant the question arose in his mind, a passage of text appeared in response: After the system became reality, specific attributes would change according to the host's actual circumstances. The average Shinobi World genin's limits of 500 vitality and 300 chakra are used as the evaluation standard for data conversion.

Uh... so my mana was only one-third of an average genin's? An average genin wasn't even qualified to be cannon fodder in the original story.

Tahm finally gained an objective understanding of his own strength.

As he continued examining his Battle System, Tahm saw the familiar skill bar. His passive skill, An Acquired Taste, was active: By dealing damage to enemy heroes with basic attacks and skills, Tahm can stack An Acquired Taste on the target. When an enemy hero reaches 3 stacks, Tahm can use Devour to swallow that enemy hero.

The other skills were all grayed out, but as a level-one character, he did have one skill point available. After thinking briefly, Tahm chose to learn the W skill Devour: It can swallow a target. Swallowing an ally grants a speed boost, swallowing an enemy slows them, and spitting them out deals damage.

Why was the skill description so vague, without any specific numbers? Why didn't it even show the MP cost? The thought had barely formed when he received an answer: After the system became reality, MP consumption, the magnitude of speed boosts and slows, and damage dealt by skills would be determined by the combined strength of the host, allies, and enemies. They would also be affected by the force, distance, and method of the attack. Specific skill data would depend on the circumstances.

With his questions answered, Tahm suddenly discovered a small lit-up skill slot beneath his skill bar. Looking closely, he saw that the skill was actually Mount Myoboku Style: Tongue Lash: Chakra can be infused into Tahm's tongue, increasing its attack range while also increasing the force of tongue attacks.

So even skills he had cultivated could be recognized by the system? Tahm had an inexplicable feeling. Had he become the first hero in the Rift with an extra skill slot?

Immersed in the happiness of finally receiving his golden finger, Tahm failed to notice that he had been spacing out on the trial grounds for several minutes. The host frog beside him finally could not wait any longer and picked up the microphone. "Contestant Tahm, if you wish to surrender, please leave the arena voluntarily. Do not disrupt the normal order of the trial." Boos erupted from the audience, while Sage Fukasaku, hiding to the side and watching, had long since turned so dark-faced that he looked terrifying enough to be an ultimate ninjutsu. He seemed barely able to restrain the urge to fire a Senjutsu Toad Water Gun at the arena and send this disgraceful disciple of his flying into the sky.

Wait! Tahm finally realized he was still in battle. Fortunately, his opponent was an honest frog and had actually stood there spacing out with him instead of taking the opportunity to swing that staff at his head a few more times. But during those minutes of spacing out, Tahm noticed that his health had regenerated to full. He could no longer feel any of the pain from before—if he had this kind of recovery ability, then as long as he did not die, even grievous injuries would heal completely just by standing around, without any medical ninjutsu!

"Ha ha!" Tahm instantly felt reborn and burst into laughter. "This Immortal merely gave you one move earlier. Now it's time to show you my true skill!"

Once excited, Tahm began saying things none of the frogs could understand again. Still, everyone could feel that inexplicable confidence of his. Only the dark aura on Sage Fukasaku's face grew another layer thicker.

"Okay... then let's... con...tinue." Honest Toad White finally came back to his senses as well. He tightened both hands around the iron staff as tall as he was and began entering a combat stance.

Now that his golden finger had been unlocked, Tahm had confidence again and resumed his carefree manner. It seemed that the next part of the story would be his explosive comeback, followed by everyone worshipping him. Thus, with the air of a true master, he waved one of his short little arms. "Please."

"Okay."

Toad White moved. His powerful frog legs kicked fiercely off the ground, chakra power surged forth, and his entire body shot through the air with tremendous momentum. A dark staff shadow grew larger and larger in Tahm's vision.

Hmph! This time, I'm different! Tahm sneered inwardly and roared, "Summoner skill: Flash!"

A piercing sound split the air. A huge frog silhouette flew through the sky once again, tracing a perfect parabola in a smooth arc.

What a familiar scene. Hadn't they seen this before? The audience's thoughts somehow became perfectly aligned. Also, what kind of skill was that Flash Tahm had shouted? Did it refer to this special aerial movement technique?

As Tahm was sent flying through the air yet again, only one thought remained in his mind: Director, this isn't how the script was supposed to go!